Golf Course

The Mario Golf series is one of the most prominent sports titles across the Mario series. It has seen numerous entries starting in the Nintendo 64 era all the way down to the modern day, with the recent Mario Golf: Super Rush. Naturally, a representative stage is all but essential.

The stage will be moderately large, set on a hilly uneven landscape with walk-offs on both sides. A sandtrap will take up one portion of the stage, and another portion will be in the rough and will make it difficult to move around. A flag will stick out of a hole in the stage’s center.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7zX1xKyioY

Kid

If you’re going to make a golf game, why limit yourself to just consoles. Nintendo released by a Nintendo 64 version of Mario Golf and a Game Boy Color version that same year. The trouble with a handheld version, unfortunately, was that it couldn’t be a multiplayer game. So, to give players something to do, Nintendo added in an RPG mode, where you played as a young rookie working your way up through the ranks to challenge the champion, who else but Mario.

These characters you could choose from were Kid, Sherry, Joe, and Azalea, with four opponents who would challenge them in the league, being Putts, Grace, Tiny, and Gene Yuss. All eight of these characters would return in the next console generation in Mario Golf: Advance Tour, as challengers to the new pair of rookies, Neil and Ella.

In game, I would like all ten of these characters to be represented, though if we stick to eight, two will have to sit out. They will be echo fighters of their console counterparts, their moves pulling from across the Mario Golf series as well. Possibly in reference to being handheld characters instead of console characters, they might be a bit lighter but slower than the others.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Plum

After party games, golf was the Mario brothers’ next big foray. A 3D golf game was developed starring the Mario series cast and released in 1999. Although it starred most of the Mario series regulars, the game also came with five human characters who played right alongside them.

These were Plum, Charlie, Sonny, Harry, and Maple. Plum, being the most recognizable among them, would take the first color swap, while her four companions will take the subsequent four slots. They would never appear again in any Mario game, but their presence in that original game make them key options to represent the series as a whole.

As players, their whole gimmick will revolve around the Mario Golf series and everything that comes with it. They will be light, with decent speed, albeit a bit slower than the fastest characters. They won’t have much in terms of power, and their movesets will pull from across the golf series as a whole, not just their own home game.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Smash Character Review: (Not) Mario Golf

 (NOT) MARIO GOLF

This shouldn't take that long either. We just ran through all golf games that feature Mario but don't technically qualify as "Mario Golf" games. Mario appeared in all of them as a player character, seemingly for no other reason than "Mario boosts sales." For the most part, he was the only one, although some later games also featured Luigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Yoshi, and Foreman Spike from Wrecking Crew. Kid, Grace, Tiny, and Gene Yuss, stars of the first two handheld Mario Golf games, also make appearances. Lastly, we have a bunch of new human characters: Tony, Billy, Steve, Mark, Ken, Napple, Thread, and Lisa. Since we already have the two sets of golf protagonists, I don't see any reason to worry about them, except maybe to include them as color swaps or as color swap references.

That's it for today! No roster changes this time, so next up, we'll start on the other Mario sports games with Mario Superstar Baseball!

Super Mario Series Roster, Updated

 SUPER SMASH BROS. UNIVERSE

SUPER MARIO BROS.

Here's our next update. This time we add in the protagonists from the Mario Golf games, Plum and the other players from the N64 game, and Kid and the other protagonists from the handheld games.

1. Mario
2. Fursuit Mario
3. F.L.U.D.D. Mario
4. Luigi
5. Vacuum Luigi
5e. Professor E. Gadd
6. Princess Peach

6e. Peachette
7. Princess Daisy
8. Rosalina and Luma
9. Pauline
10. Cappy
11. Toad

11e. Toadsworth

12. Captain Toad
12e. Toadette
13. Bowser
13e. Dry Bowser
14. Bowser Jr.
15. Shadow Mario
16. The Koopalings
17. Wart
18. Tatanga

19. Mario Kart

20. Robo Mario
21. Wanda

22. Plum

22e. Kid

23. Alex & Nina

23e. Ace & Clay
24. Perry
25 Sprixie Princess
26. Koopa Troopa
26e. Dry Bones
27. Goomba
28. Piranha Plant
29. Boo

30. Buzzy Beetle

31. Bob-Omb

31e. King Bob-Omb
32. Cheep Cheep
33. Blooper

34. Pokey

35. Lakitu and Spinies

36. Ninji
37. Monty Mole

38. Spike

39. Hammer Bro
40. Chargin' Chuck
41. Wiggler
42. Chain Chomp

43. Thwomp

43e. Whomp

44. Mechakoopa

45. Ghost
46. Honeybee

47. Nabbit
48. Boom Boom
48e. Pom Pom
49. Birdo

50. Mouser
51. Petey Piranha
52. King Boo
53. The Broodals

There we go! Tomorrow, we start on the other Golf games. You know, the ones with Mario in them but aren't really Mario games, per se. You'll see what I mean.

Character Sheet: Kid

KID

Today, let's go over our two newcomers from the golf series. It was a little difficult this time, as with the tennis reps, I just split it up by game, with Alex & Nina representing the first and Ace & Clay representing the second. This time however, we have three groups of characters, all from different games, but I have no desire to go past a single echo fighter limit. I feel if I did that, there'd be no point to any of this. So, I opted this time to divide them up by the console characters from the N64 game, and the characters from the handhelds. Neil and Ella from the second handheld are basically just new members of the same group anyway, so it works.

1. Plum

2. Kid

So, today, we will be covering the characters from the handheld games, both the Game Boy Color version, as well as Advance Tour, as most of the characters appear in both. If we don't go past eight color swaps, then it will be the starter playable characters from both: Kid, Sherry, Joe, and Azalea, alongside Neil and Ella, with a couple of other color swaps. If we are willing to break past, then we will include Putts, Grace, Tiny, and Gene Yuss as well. As this is an echo, I guess we don't have anything else to talk about.

Here's the moveset I came up with!

Standard B: Fore!

Pretty much the same, probably quite different in the stats department.

Side B: Flag

Also the same, probably different flags and such.

Up B: Tornado

We could change it up and use the coin tornado that appeared in the Game Cube game.

Down B: Sandtrap

We could go Rough on this one instead of Sandtrap if we wanted to mix it up.

Final Smash: Golf Club

Whether we only have the six or the full ten, all ten will appear on stage and perform the move as described previously.

Entrance: The character will come out and set up their tee.

Taunts: Up, the character will hold pull a club from their bag and look it over. Side, the character will spin the club lazily like a cane. Down, the character will turn a ball over in their hands as if studying the dimples.

Thanks for reading! Now, let's update the roster!

Character Sheet: Plum

PLUM

Today, let's go over our two newcomers from the golf series. It was a little difficult this time, as with the tennis reps, I just split it up by game, with Alex & Nina representing the first and Ace & Clay representing the second. This time however, we have three groups of characters, all from different games, but I have no desire to go past a single echo fighter limit. I feel if I did that, there'd be no point to any of this. So, I opted this time to divide them up by the console characters from the N64 game, and the characters from the handhelds. Neil and Ella from the second handheld are basically just new members of the same group anyway, so it works.

1. Plum

2. Kid

This first character will be the five characters from the N64 game as color swaps: Plum, Charlie, Sonny, Harry, and Maple. I figure each would have a second color swap and then we'd end up with ten, and then the next character can be all eight cast members of the GBC game plus Neil and Ella, and they'd all match up. This character is basically a golf rep, but with some of the more fantastical elements that the Mario series adds on to it. At a first glance, it seems difficult, what with swinging your club as more or less the only "move" per se, but if you factor in things like hazards and such, we can make it work.

Here's the moveset I came up with!

Standard B: Fore!

This one's the basic move. You will swing your golf club and smack a ball as a projectile. Like real golf, most likely how long you press and different directional inputs will alter the way the ball flies and how much power it strikes with.

Side B: Flag

It's a bit of a stretch maybe, but I could see this working like Isabelle's stop sign, putting down a flag in a hole and stopping an opponent in their tracks.

Up B: Tornado

This one is one of the more fantastical elements. Tornadoes crop up as part of this series quite often, so it fits well. A tornado will appear, but rather than send the ball flying, it will send the character flying instead.

Down B: Sandtrap

This one is based on one of the most common hazards in golf, but it will be in a more portable variety. Plum, or whichever character you are playing as, will toss something down, but it won't be visible immediately. When a character walks over it, the sandtrap will appear and they will end up buried for a short time.

Final Smash: Golf Club

When the final smash is activated, all five members of the club will come out, line up shots with the Ka-Bomb item and hit it off, bombarding the stage and other players with the projectiles.

Entrance: The character will come out and set up their tee.

Taunts: Up, Plum (etc.) will lick her finger and hold it up to the wind. Side, she will hold her hand over her eyes and look out. Down, she will crouch and retrieve her ball from a hole.

Thanks for reading! Next, we'll cover the handheld game reps, collectively called Kid!

Character Review: Mario Golf series

MARIO GOLF SERIES

There's not too much to say here. We'll have our golf gimmick reps, which we'll cover next, but outside of that we don't even really have any specialized individual moves to talk about (which is a surprise, I would think that that kind of mechanic might go hand in hand with this series). So let's just run through them, and that will be that.

Mario and Luigi both appear, alongside Mario variants such as Baby Mario, Metal Mario, and Gold Mario. Peach has always been a mainstay, and so has Daisy, and Rosalina made her debut in World Tour. Toad, strangely, got a bit of the short end of the stick with this series, being relegated to a mere support character for most of it until World Tour. (Sounds like his Smash representation all over again, except World Tour hasn't happened yet). Toadette joined him as DLC pretty shortly after.

Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Wario have all been pretty much a constant, with their partners such as Birdo, Diddy Kong, and Waluigi following not too far behind. As for our villains, Bowser and Bowser Jr. are constants, with Bowser Jr.'s Shadow Mario form also cropping up in Toadstool Tour. Petey Piranha has shown up once, as has Nabbit, and even Kamek in a rare playable appearance. Koopas, Boos, and Paratroopas are the only enemy characters to appear as playable so far.

As for that, our only "guest" character is the Miis this time around, but at this point, they're to be pretty much expected. A number of other random characters appear here and there, mostly as background and obstacles and such (like a Thwomp in the middle of the course that will crush your ball if it lands on it), but most of that is pretty basic stuff we've seen a million times before.

Thanks for reading! Next up, we will get into our newcomer gimmick reps, starting with Plum!

Mario Golf (GBC)

 MARIO GOLF

So, remember the tennis games? How the handhelds had to have an RPG mode, featuring generic human characters going to an academy and working themselves up through the league to eventually challenge the champion? Yeah, that.

The game is pretty basic, just like its 64 counterpart, with pretty basic golf mechanics. Mario, Luigi, and Wario are the only main "Mario series" players, while your RPG protagonists include two male and two female options: Kid, Sherry, Joe, and Azalea. There are also four unlockable characters from the story mode, basically challengers you face. These are Putts, Grace, Tiny, and Gene Yuss. The other characters from the 64 game can appear when you link the games, but not as playable. Kid, Sherry, Joe, and Azalea can also be played on the 64 game when linked up.

The courses are pretty basic, considering the limitations, the RPG moving you through the Marion Club, the Palm Club, the Dune Club, and the Links Club, and finally to Peach's Castle, as well as a mini-game called the Golf Guru's Pitch and Putt.

That's pretty much it. Here's what we've got!

Characters:

Gimmick rep (Plum/Charlie/Sonny/Harry/Maple): swing club, hole, sand traps, hazards

Kid/Sherry/Joe/Azalea (maybe the others): same

Mario

Luigi

Peach

Yoshi

Donkey Kong

Wario

Bowser

Baby Mario

Metal Mario

Toad

Stages:

Toad Highlands

Koopa Park

Shy Guy Desert

Yoshi's Island

Boo Valley

Mario's Star

Luigi's Garden

Peach's Castle

Marion Club

Palm Club

Dune Club

Links Club

Peach's Castle

Golf Guru's Pitch & Putt

Thanks for reading! Next up, we will cover Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour!

Mario Golf 64

 MARIO GOLF

Today, we'll be covering the Mario Golf games, or rather we'll specifically be covering the actual "Mario Golf" Mario Golf games. There's another breed of "Mario Golf" games out there that are "golf games but with Mario in them." We'll be covering those later. As with the Tennis games, we'll likely be looking out for gimmick reps rather than really caring about much of anything the characters themselves do. That's going to be a bit tough, as golf is a pretty simple game, considering most of what you do that would be considered a "move" and not "specifics of said move" is . . . "swing club," but I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out.

Speaking of characters, this game features Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Wario, Bowser, Baby Mario, and Metal Mario, with Toad as a support referee character. We also, sort of inexplicably, see five generic human characters: Plum, Charlie, Sonny, Harry, and Maple. I honestly don't know why they exist. The handheld counterpart does indeed have an RPG mode, but that has its own characters entirely separate from them. They're just . . . here. Ah, well, first possibility. Check it!

The game features a number of sprawling golf courses, full of the standard hazards you'd often see in golf, plus some more fantastical hazards, fitting of the Mario-style whimsy. We have Toad Highlands, a pretty standard course; Koopa Park, a more wooded area; Shy Guy Desert, a desert course; Yoshi's Island, based on Yoshi's Island; Boo Valley, a haunted course; Mario's Star, a course set up in space and shaped like various characters; and two mini-golf courses called Luigi's Garden and Peach's Castle.

That's really about it for now. Let's see what we've got!

Characters:

Gimmick rep (Plum/Charlie/Sonny/Harry/Maple): swing club, hole, sand traps, hazards

Mario

Luigi

Peach

Yoshi

Donkey Kong

Wario

Bowser

Baby Mario

Metal Mario

Toad

Stages:

Toad Highlands

Koopa Park

Shy Guy Desert

Yoshi's Island

Boo Valley

Mario's Star

Luigi's Garden

Peach's Castle

Thanks for reading! Next up, we will cover the game's Game Boy counterpart!